The present invention relates to an automatic thread cutting machine for nuts and similar mass-produced pieces where the nuts or the like travel from a magazine through a feed trough into a guide where they are held secure against rotation and are pushed by means of a pusher over a rotating thread cutter from which they are removed via the rearwardly bent end while the pusher is in the process of being retracted.
Machines of this type are known in which the blank nuts are pushed onto the thread cutter by means of a pusher, the movement of the pusher being controlled by a cam whose advance is adapted to the respective pitch of the thread or increases constantly. The displacement force in this case is produced either by weights or by spring elements having various unfavorable characteristics.
It is also known to advance the blank nuts between three rotating worms, the arrangement being such that the pitch and rotational speed of the worms correspond to the desired thread pitch.
Conventional automatic thread cutters, which inherently are relatively complicated pieces of equipment, require extensive change gears so as to enable the machine to be used for cutting threads having different pitches.
It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide a simplified and improved automatic thread cutter of the above described type, i.e., a thread cutter having relatively uncomplicated structure which is readily adaptable to cut different threads.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic thread cutter in which malfunctions in the supply of nuts and during cutting are better detectable than was previously possible, thus avoiding damage to the machine.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a machine capable of producing threaded nuts of higher quality than was heretofore possible.